On the lake's surface was what looked like a giant carp spirit that had failed to become a dragon.
It did not fall into the water, but floundered on the surface.
It looked as though it was conjuring clouds and rain, churning up the water and trying very hard to act like a dragon.
So, were there dragons in the Land of Reeds?
There really were.
Although the Divine Dragon was a foreign species, its appearance matched the Land of Reeds' understanding of dragons.
Dragons in the Land of Reeds had long, slender, serpentine bodies and two horns on their heads.
They had four legs beneath their bellies, with chicken-like claws and three toes.
Three digits would have been an ill omen in the Lands Between.
Different places had different rules.
The Ancient Dragons in the Lands Between had something like six digits.
People considered the number of digits important, or a sign of supernatural qualities, because most ordinary people had five.
When some extraordinary person had six fingers, it seemed quite reasonable.
The same principle applied to divine beasts, monsters, and the like.
Holding up a Shiba Inu and calling it a dog god would not be very convincing.
If that dog had horns on its head, there would be no need to say anything. Anyone would know it was no ordinary dog.
The Divine Dragon certainly caused people enough trouble.
It had traveled there from far to the west of Ashina.
Changes like that had affected the species around Ashina.
Apparently, other places had been affected too.
This giant carp that had failed to become a dragon was far too obvious an example.
One look was enough to tell that this king of carp had wanted to become a dragon, only to fail.
Against a giant carp with